Much was made of the paraphrasing of an African proverb by Hillary Clinton in her 1994 book when she advised America that “it takes a village to raise a child.” There is great potency in the Igbo saying, and its meaning was one that once permeated T&T society. The news last week of two child drownings, one at a school outing and the other in an accident at home, has triggered a variety of responses.
The school that organised the outing is said to be closing down. Another school removed swimming from its curriculum. Every school that teaches swimming was put on high alert. Since then another child died in the custody of a daycare centre, in circumstances that are still to be explained. Police are investigating that matter.
But knee-jerk responses to these tragedies won’t last, and they do the children of this country little good. A child of T&T, raised on islands surrounded by water, should be able to swim, and training school-age children to do just that is likely to save more lives than will ever be lost by poolside accidents. The announcement by junior Minister of the People and Social Development, Vernella Alleyne-Toppin that a “mapping system” to keep track of children would be implemented drifts even further from what’s called for.
http://www.guardian.co.tt/digital/new-members